Southwest Power Station Unit 2

In Nov. 2004, Springfield voters rejected the Southwest power plant, but City Utilities of Springfield (SCU) put the plant on the ballot as a special election in June 2006, at which point the vote passed.

On Aug. 24, 2006, the Sierra Club appealed a Missouri judge’s decision to allow City Utilities of Springfield to go forward with plans to build Southwest II. In August 2007, the Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear Sierra Club’s appeal of the permit.

City Councilman Doug Burlison initiated a petition asking state auditors to consider whether the way SCU handled the permit was improper; the petition gathered 5,874 signatures, more than the 5,000 necessary to force a state audit. State Auditor Susan Montee’s 73-page report, released Dec. 18, 2007, criticizes SCU for behaving more like a corporation than a public utility, and suggests that SCU contributions to local organizations may violate the Missouri State Constitution. The Missouri Attorney General will be responsible for any final decision on SCU’s practices.

The plant began operating in November 2010, and will begin producing power commercially in January 2011. The plant will burn about 87,000 pounds of coal an hour at full power.

Project Details
Sponsor: Springfield City Utilities Location: Springfield, MO Capacity: 330 MW Type: Conventional pulverized coal Projected in service: 2011 Status: Operating November 2010

Citizen Groups

 * Columbia Climate Change Coalition, monta [at] columbiaclimatechangecoalition.org
 * Missouri Sierra Club, Melissa Hope, melissa.hope [at] sierraclub.org
 * Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Erin Noble, enoble [at] moenviron.org

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Missouri and coal
 * United States and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * US proposed coal plants (both active and cancelled)
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2007
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2008
 * State-by-state guide to information on coal in the United States (or click on the map)